Writing instrument releasable securing means



April 1964 K. PARKER ETAL WRITING INSTRUMENT RELEASABLE SECURING MEANS Filed April 3, l9 59 INVENTORJ. KENNETH PARKER dmammmi iig 6 DONALD vv. DOMAN BY ATTY.

United States Patent 3,128,514 WRITING INSTRUMENT RELEASABLE SECURING MEANS Kenneth Parker and Donald W. Doman, Janesville, Wis., assignors to The Parker Pen Company, Janesville, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Apr. 3, 1959, Ser. No. 803,914 1 Claim. (Cl. 24-11) This invention relates to means for releasably securing a writing instrument to a support therefor. It is often desirable to secure a pen or pencil to a shirt or coat pocket, to a telephone, to a desk or desk accessory, to a calendar, to a book cover or to some other such support.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel releasable securing means requiring a minimum of effort.

A further object is to provide a securing means which eliminates an instrument-attached pocket clip, thereby eliminating pocket clip-caused interference with writing and discomfort to the hand.

Another object is to provide a non-metallic and nonmagnetic easily adherable and separable writing instrument securing means.

It is a further object to provide such writing instrument securing means comprising a pair of fabric elements mutually interengageably adherable and disengageably separable.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from considering the following description in the light of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a shirt and shirt pocket, and a ball pen secured therein by securing means embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the ball pen shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the securing means shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the device shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of said device;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of said device;

FIG. 7 is a view, on an enlarged scale and partly in section, of a portion of FIG. 1, illustrating fabric elements on said ball pen and on said device;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to that of FIG. 7, illustrating an alternate form of fabric arrangement; and

FIGS. 9 through 12 each illustrate still other forms of fabric arrangement.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a ball pen including a barrel B, a cap C, and a pushbutton P. The pen is secured in a shirt pocket SP of a shirt S by means including a first fabric element 4 on the pen and a second fabric element 11 on a pocket clip device. The pocket clip device includes a pocket clip 3 fixed to a clip plate 2 which carries the second fabric element 11.

The fabric element 4 has a backing 5 and a plurality of flexible hook-shaped members 6 upstanding therefrom.

The fabric element 11 has a-backing 1 and a plurality of loops 9 upstanding therefrom.

The fabric elements 4 and 11 may be constructed according to Swiss patents: 295,638 (1954); 332,759 (1955); and 333,879 (1958).

The fabrics 4 and 11 are interengageably adherable and disengageably separable. When touched together they adhere or stick. The pen is thereby supported on the member carrying fabric 11. The fabrics 4 and 11 may be pulled or stripped apart to thereby release the writing instrument. The fabrics 4 and 11 may be used over and over again in this manner, indefinitely.

The pocket clip device (clip 3, plate 2, fabric 11) may be removed from the pocket, thereby carrying the pen therewith, and this entire'assembly of pen and pocket clip device may then be clipped to some other support such as to a book cover or to a calendar. The pen may then be removed from fabric 11 by stripping or pulling. apart the fabrics 4 and 11. Upon completion of the writing task, the pen may be touched back against fabric 11 to thereby store the pen on said book cover or calendar. Whenever desired, the entire assembly may be unclipped from the book cover or calendar, and returned to and clipped into the pocket.

Or, alternatively, with the entire assembly in the pocket, the pen may be stripped or pulled from fabric 11 and removed from the pocket, leaving the clip-plate-fabric 11 device in the pocket. The pen may then be used in writing, and thereafter touched back to fabric 11 to return the pen to the pocket.

The backings 5 and 1 respectively, of fabrics 4 and 11 respectively, may be of standard weft and warp configuration, wherein the hooks 6 and loops 9 may be formed from raised pile loop threads, which may be auxiliary warp threads woven into the fabric.

The raised pile loops and hooks are preferably of a suitable plastic material, such as thermoplastic nylon material, which is along chain synthetic polymeric amide which has recurring amide groups as an integral part of the main polymer chain and which is capable of being formed into a filament in which the structural elements are oriented in the direction of the axis.

The hooks 6 will, upon touching fabrics 4 and 11 together with the slightest of pressure, engage the loops 9, causing the fabric elements 4 and 11 to adhere together. The hooks are flexible, and therefore the fabric elements 4 and 11 may be separated by pulling them apart. Upon pulling them apart the hooks flex, open up, disengage, and separate. After separation, the hooks close up, 1.e., they return to their original hook-shape. The pen may thus be easily attached to and detached from the fabric element 11.

The fabric element 11 may be fixed to a pocket clip plate 2, as shown, or may be fixed to a desk accessory, telephone, purse flap, wall calendar or other such object.

The preferred embodiment of fabric construction for fabrics 4 and 11 isshown in FIG. 7 wherein the loops 9 are finer threads than those forming the hooks 6, and wherein the hooks 6 have been formed by cutting pile loops to thereby form hooks 6 and stems 8. In FIGS. 1 and 2 the stems have not been shown to avoid confusion due to the small scales of FIGS. 1 and 2.

In FIG. 8 there is shown an embodiment wherein each of the adhering fabrics have hook-shaped members thereon. The hooks 6a on backing 5a are disposed in planes transverse to the planes of hooks 9a on backing 1a, being in degree angular displacement.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 9 is made by cutting pile loops so that the hooks 6b formed thereby are arranged with adjacent hooks opening in opposite directions.

In FIG. 10, the hooks also are such that adjacent ones open in opposite directions, but no stems are left over. This is accomplished by deforming the tops of pile loops so that the loop is generally M-shaped, and then cutting each loop at the center of the M to thereby form hooks 6c and leave no stems.

FIG. 11 illustrates another embodiment wherein each pile thread is notched to form a hook or double hook configuration, thereby forming hook members 6d.

In FIG. 12, another variation is shown wherein each of the adhering fabrics comprises ball-ended threads 62 and 9e upstanding from the fabric backings. Each upstanding thread may be given a ball or sphere end by heating those ends so that the synthetic thermoplastic material partially melts and upon cooling forms the ball or spherical shape. The members 6e on backing 5e will thus, upon being touched or lightly pressed against the other fabric, interengage with members 9e on the other 3 fabric. The fabrics are separated merely by pulling them apart.

We claim:

In combination, a Writing instrument and a cooperating mounting device therefor, said Writing instrument including an elongate body With a narrow annular band of a first fabric material fastened encirclingly about said body intermediate the ends thereof, and said mounting device comprising a substantially flat plate member having mounted on one face a resilient clip element for releasable attachment of said plate member to a supporting structure and covered on its second face with a second fabric material, said plate and second fabric material having heights and widths greater than the respective height and diameter of the band of said first fabric material, one of said first and second fabric materials including upstanding pile A thread flexible hooks that releasably interlock mechanically with the other fabric material When said first and second fabric materials are brought into surface engagement.

References fi ted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 901,240 Hagan Oct. 13, 1908 1,102,350 Myers July 7, 1914 1,164,697 Alsop Dec. 21, 1915 2,297,806 Smith Oct. 16, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,064,360 France Dec. 23, 1953 

